The bells and cymbals were clanking with difficulty. Ula approached the yellow strip and saw a beautiful shining woman’s sash. He grabbed it with both hands, and a girl of unspeakable beauty appeared in front of him. She wore a yellow dress. The youth looked at her and forgot why he had come here. The owl gave him again a loud outcry.
“Why didn’t you wait until sunrise had come? Why didn’t you listen to me?” the girl asked Ula frowning.
“Because now you are powerless,” Ula replied. “You will not bewitch me and I am not afraid of you. Tell me where my father is and what you did to him.”
The girl stood silent in front of him. The owl’s outcry resounded again.
“Tell me immediately where my father is or I’ll tear down your sash and you’ll lose your power!” Ula demanded in anger, ripping her sash from her dress.
“Your father is here, but he is blind. He looked at me at sunrise. Anyone who looks at me at the daybreak becomes blind from my beauty and my bright dress,” the girl replied. “Give me back my sash and I’ll bring you to your father.”
“No, first you bring me to my father, and then I’ll see if I will give you back your sash,” Ula continued.
The bells began tinkling and cymbals ringing again. One red flower opened up. It rocked and then it threw all its petals to the ground. In a blink of an eye, a hunter appeared in front of Ula. This hunter looked like him, Ula.
“I don’t see you, the sorceress,” he said. “Let me touch your sash; it will give me my life back.”
“Your son came after you,” replied the girl. “I give you your freedom because of him, but you will still be blind.”
The hunter was happy anyway. His cheeks became wet from his tears. But the next minute the owl gave her outcry again. Ula looked at the valley and saw myriad flowers there. He guessed that all those flowers were the misfortunate hunters who had been charmed by the sorceress the same as his father had.
As Isis, So Is Mama… @ 271
“Well, what you want to give me is not enough, smart girl. Liberate all the hunters you charmed,” Ula said. “I don’t want even one flower to be left on your meadow.”
The sorceress became very angry, but she couldn’t do anything. She gave a sign, and all flowers opened up at once. They rocked and threw their petals on the ground. The stems began to grow and in several minutes 77 hunters stood in front of Ula. All of them were blind. The owl gave an outcry again, and Ula crumpled the yellow sash with one fast clenching of his fist. Then he burned the sash and put the ashes in a wooden cup. The owl gave an outcry again, and the young man came up to his father and rubbed his eyes with the ash. His father began to see again. Ula did the same with all 77 hunters and all of them gained their sight back. They were very happy to be free. They thanked Ula for saving their lives and giving them back their healthy eyes.
But the next minute the owl-friend cried again. Ula understood that something was not finished yet. He looked at the girl. She was sitting on the grass, an unspeakable beauty in the yellow shining dress, and she was crying.
“Why do you cry? I see now you are not a malicious witch
but a normal girl. You are so beautiful that I have fallen in love with you,” said Ula. “Do you know what? Promise to be good and I will take you with us, and I’ll marry you. We’ll live together and I’ll be a good husband to you.”
The end of this fairy tale was happy. Ula, his father, and the girl returned home together. Ula’s mother met them with a big smile and a warm hospitality that only she could provide as a real mother. She liked the girl at first sight. There was a big, merry wedding, and all 77 hunters were invited with their families. They celebrated seven days and seven nights.
And from that time on hunters are not scared to go back
to the Valley of Flowers because now hundreds of red flowers grow there, blossom, and dance gracefully at sunrise. They murmur and share the peoples’ secrets with the wind, and
sing marvelous songs, known only to them alone.
272 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies
When I think about this old folk tale, I feel that it is surprisingly compatible with the real life we lead. Albert Einstein said, not by chance, that if we want our children to be brilliant, we should read them fairy tales. He said so from his observations and his own experience. We can trust his suggestion; he was a brilliant man and a genius scientist himself. Perhaps his mother read him a lot of fairy tales.
I believe we must find time in our busy lives to read to our children as much as we can—good children’s literature, kind and wise stories, folk tales and fairy tales. As all mothers do, I am sure if we “put” anything good in our children by planting fine “seeds” from the first day of their appearance on Earth, it will give great results in the future. Our children will lead healthy lives, and not “thorny paths,” and they will not get hurt easily, if they will choose good actions, and inspire the same in others.
Doesn’t the Valley of Flowers remind you too of our everyday life and the fascinating world around that we explore all the time? The place where we and our children share love, joy and appreciation for each other, and the great satisfaction of knowing we should continue our life journey with the best intentions we can?
Our life, our Valley of Flowers, is where millions of peoples’ destinies grow and blossom like flowers, dance gracefully at sunrise, and murmur with the wind. Some of these flowers and their neighbors—herbs, trees, fruits, and vegetables—can enhance our health and emotions. Respect them and take advantage of how they can help you and others.
As Isis, So Is Mama… @ 273
274 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies
Chapter 14
Nature’s Green Clinic:
Useful Herbs, Plants, Fruits
and Vegetables
Medicine is an art to imitate the healing power of nature. Hippocrates (c.460-c.377 B.C.), Greek physician
and the “Father of Medicine.”
This chapter charts the healing power of our green friends, used in remedies in this book, and how they can be our lifesavers. They come from centuries of people’s wisdom and from flora of the earth—an endless treasure of natural healers. Even the most primitive tribes on Earth knew medicinal characteristics of herbs and how to use them. In search of food, human beings observed the faultless instincts of animals, saving themselves with green plants, and they began to recognize the medicinal properties of herbs.
Humans have long studied about how to find and use herbs. One of the important precepts of Hippocrates doctrine was based on the “the healing power of nature,” or in Latin, vis mediatrix naturae. Theophrastus, Greek philosopher and a student of Aristotle and Dioscorides (circa 372-287 B.C.), wrote Medicinal Matters, in which he prescribed the experiences of ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, and Babylonians and the use of 600 plants or herbs. His Nature’s Green Clinic: Useful Herbs, Plants, Fruits and Vegetables @ 275
book was translated into Latin with the name Materia Medica and served as a guide to doctors and pharmacists for 15 centuries. From that time, Latin names of herbs have become well known and used throughout European countries, Russia, and almost everywhere in the world. Names of herbs, trees, and other plants are given in English and Latin versions.
Chapter 1: Rose Hips Tea Party
Coffee (beans) – Coffea arabica
Dandelion – Taraxacum officinale
Rose hips – Rosa canina
Dried grape (raisin) – Vitis vinifera
Chapter 2:
Evening primrose oil – Oenothera biennis
“Even the Badger Knows…”
Garden radish – Raphanus sativis
Garlic – Allium sativum
Almond – Amygdalis dulcis
Grape, Grapeseed oil – Vitis vinifera
Aloe – Aloe vera
Grapeseed oil – Vitis vinifera
Barley – Hordeum vulgare
Lemon – Citrus limon
Beet – Beta vulgaris
&n
bsp; Olive (oil) – Olea europaea
Black radish – Raphanus sativus
Plum – Prunus domestica
Cabbage – Brassica oleracea
Potato – Solanum tuberosum
Carrot – Daucus carota
Prune (dried plum) – Prunus domestica
Garlic – Allium sativum
Rose hips oil –Rosa canina
Ginger – Zingiber officinale
Tomato – Solanum lycopersicum
Olive (oil ) – Olea europaea
Onion – Allium cepa
Turnip – Brassica rapa
Peat moss – Sphagnum
Walnut – Juglans regia
Pine. Stone Pine (nuts) – Pinus pinea
Wheat germ oil – Triticum durum
Pomegranate – Punica granatum
Chapter 4: Stop Sneezes
Walnut – Juglans regia
And Sniffles and Stifle a Cold
Chapter 3: A Healthy Spirit
Anise – Pimpinella anisum
Lives in a Healthy Body
Apple – Malus domestica
Almond, almond oil – Amygdalis dulcis
Beet – Beta vulgaris
Apple – Malus domestica
Birch – Betula alba
Apricot (dried, or apricot kernel oil)
Black currant – Ribes nigrum
–Prunus armeniaca
Black elder, elderberry – Sambucus nigra
Beet – Beta vulgaris
Black elder, Siberian elder – Sambucus
Black tea – Camellia sinensis
nigra
Burdock – Arctium lappa
Blackthorn – Prunus spinosa
Cabbage – Brassica oleracea
Bogbean – Menyanthes trifoliata
Calendula – Calendula officinalis
Buckthorn – Rhamnus frangula
Chamomile – Matricaria chamomilla/
Calendula – Calendula officinalis
M. recutita
Carrot – Daucus carota
276 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies
Centaury (an old World herb)
Vanilla (extract) – Vanilla planifolia
– Centaurium erythraea
White oak – Quercus alba
Chamomile – Matricaria chamimilla/
Wild marjoram – Origanum vulgare
M. recutita
Willow – Salix alba
Cherry – Prunus cerasus
Wood betony – Betonica officinalis
Coltsfoot – Tussilago farfara
(in Europe used to treat about 30
Elecampane – Unula helenium
diseases. W.b. is not commonly
English oak – Quercus robur
used in the U.S.A.)
Fennel – Foeniculum officinale
Feverfew – Tanacetum parthenium
Chapter 5:
Garlic – Allium sativum
A Sickness of the 21st Century
German golden locks – Gnaphalium
Agrimony –Agrimonia eupatoria
avenarium
Apple – Malus domestica
Greater celandine – Chelidonium majus
Apricot – Prunus armeniaca
Hawthorn – Crataegus monogyna/
Birch – Betula verrucosa
C. laevigata
Black currant – Ribes nigrum
Heartsease – Viola tricolor
Black tea – Camelia sinensis
Lemon – Citrus limon
Blueberry – Vaccinium vitis idaea
Licorice – Glycyrrhiza glabra
Burdock – Arctium lappa
Linden – Tilia europea
Cabbage – Brassica oleracea
Lungwort – Pulmonaria officinalis
Calendula (pot marigold) – Calendula
Marsh cudweed – Gnaphalium uliginosum
officinalis
Marshmallow – Althaea officinalis
Carrot – Daucus carota
Mint – Mentha
Celery – Apium graveolens
Mullein – Verbascum thapsus
Chamomile – Matricaria chamomilla/
Nettle (stinging) – Urtica dionica
M.recutita
Oat straw – Avena sativa
Cherry – Prunus cerasus
Onion – Allium cepa
Coffee – Coffea arabica
Orange – Citrus aurantium
Corn silk – Zea mays
Peppermint – Mentha piperita
Cranberry – Vaccinium oxycoccus
Poppy – Papaver rhoeas
Dandelion – Taraxacum officinale
Potato – Solanum tuberosum
Duckweed (aquatic plant) – Lemna minor
Raspberry – Rubus idaeus
Eyebright – Euphrasia officinalis
Red bilberry – Vaccinium myrtillis
Garlic – Allium sativum
Rose hips – Rosa canina
Gooseberry – Ribes glossularia
Sage – Salvia officinalis
Greater celandine – Chelidonium majus
St. John’s Wort – Hypericum perforatum
Heartsease – Viola tricolor
Strawberry – Fragaria vesca
Hops – Humulus lupulus
Sunflower oil – Helianthus annuus
Horsetail – Equisetum arvense
Sweet brier, Eglantine –Rosa rubiginosa
Jasmine – Jasminum officinale
Tangerine – Citrus reticulata
Lemon –Citrus limon
Thyme – Thymus
Motherwort – Leonurus cardiaca
Nature’s Green Clinic: Useful Herbs, Plants, Fruits and Vegetables @ 277
Mountain Ash – Sorbus
Pine – Pinus sylvestris/ Pinus cembra
Nettle – Urtica dionica
Quince – Cydonia oblongata
Oak (bark) – Quercus robur
Rose – Rosa centifolia, Rosa damascena
Oat – Avena sativa
Rose hip – Rosa canina
Olive(oil) – Olea europaea
Rye – Secale cereale
Onion – Allium cepa
Sage – Salvia officinalis
Orange – Citrus aurantium
Strawberry – Fragaria vesca
Parsley – Petroselinum crispum
Thyme – Thymus vulgaris
Passionflower – Passiflora incarnata
Wheat bran – Triticum durum
Peony – Paeonia officinalis
Wild marjoram – Origanum vulgare
Peppermint – Mentha piperita
Yarrow – Achillea millefolium
Rose hips – Rosa canina
Self-Heal – Prunella vulgaris
Chapter 7: Clever Remedies
St. John’s Wort – Hypericum perforatum
to Outsmart Headaches
Strawberry – Fragaria vesca
Black currant – Ribes nigrum
Valerian – Valeriana officinalis
Black radish – Raphanus sativus
Yarrow – Achillea millefolium
Black tea – Camellia sinensis
Chapter 6: Ourselves, Our Children,
Burdock – Arctium lappa
Allergens, and Happy Cells
Cabbage – Brassica oleracea
Calendula – Calendula arvensis
Agrimony – Agrimonia eupatoria
Calendula – Calendula officinalis
Apple – Malus domestica
Carrot – Daucus carota
Birch – Betula verrucosa
Chamomile – Matricaria chamomilla
Black currant – Ribes nigrum
Cherry – Prunus cerasus
Burdock (root) – Arctium lappa
Cinnamon – Cinnamomum verum
Calendula – Calendula officinalis
Cinnamon – Cinnamomum zeylanicum
Chamomile – Matricaria recutita
Clover – Tri
folium pratense
Cherry – Prunus cerasus
Coffee – Coffea arabica
Cranberry – Vaccinium oxycoccus
Coltsfoot – Tussilago farfara
Dandelion (root) – Taraxacum officinale
Cranberry – Vaccinium oxycoccus
Elecampane – Unula helenium
Dandelion – Taraxacum officinale
Gentian – Gentiana lutea
Dill – Anethum graveolens
Gooseberries – Ribes glossularia
Elder – Sambucus nigra
Heartsease – Viola tricolor
Elecampane – Unula helenium
Horsetail – Equisetum arvense
Evening primrose/ Oenothera biennis)
Juniper – Juniperus communis
Feverfew – Tanacetum parthenium
Licorice – Glycyrrhiza glabra
Garlic –Allium sativum
Licorice – Glycyrrhiza spp.
Geranium – Pelargonium
Nettle – Urtica dionica
Ginseng – Panax
Oak – Quercus robur
Green bean – Phaseolus vulgaris
Oat – Avena sativa
Green tea – Camellia sinensis
Peppermint – Mentha piperita
Hawthorn – Crataegus monogyna
278 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies
Horehound (leaves and young shoots)
Coffee – Coffea arabica
– Marrubium vulgare
Cranberry – Vaccinium oxycoccus
Horsetail – Equisetum arvense
Dill – Anethum graveolens
Jasmine – Jasminum officinale
Elder – Sambucus nigra
Lavender – Lavandula officinalis
Elder (red berries) – Sambucus racemosa
Lemon – Citrus limon
Elecampane – Unula helenium
Lemon balm – Melissa officinalis
Fennel – Foeniculum vulgare
Lime – Citrus aurantifolia
Grape – Vitis vinifera
Linden – Tilia europea
Hawthorn – Crataegus oxyacantha
Mint –Mentha
Hops – Humulus lupulus
Mountain ash – Sorbus aucuparia
Knotgrass (Bird’s buckwheat) –
Onion – Allium cepa
Poligonum aviculare
Orange – Citrus aurantium
Lavender oil – Lavandula officinalis
Oregano – Origanum vulgare
Lemon – Citrus limon
Peppermint – Mentha piperita
Lemon balm – Melissa officinalis
Pine – Pinus sylvestris
Lily of the Valley – Convillaria majalis
Potato – Solanum tuberosum
Mama's Home Remedies: Discover Time-Tested Secrets of Good Health and the Pleasures of Natural Living Page 29